The present invention relates to multi-functional hematopoietic receptor agonists.
Colony stimulating factors (CSFs) which stimulate the differentiation and/or proliferation of bone marrow cells have generated much interest because of their therapeutic potential for restoring depressed levels of hematopoietic stem cell-derived cells. CSFs in both human and murine systems have been identified and distinguished according to their activities. For example, granulocyte-CSF (G-CSF) and macrophage-CSF (M-CSF) stimulate the in vitro formation of neutrophilic granulocyte and macrophage colonies, respectively, while GM-CSF and interleukin-3 (IL-3) have broader activities and stimulate the formation of both macrophage, neutrophilic and eosinophilic granulocyte colonies. IL-3 also stimulates the formation of mast, megakaryocyte and pure and mixed erythroid colonies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,729 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,455 disclose human IL-3 and gibbon IL-3 cDNAs and the protein sequences for which they code. The hIL-3 disclosed has serine rather than proline at position 8 in the protein sequence. International Patent Application (PCT) WO 88/00598 discloses gibbon- and human-like IL-3. The hIL-3 contains a Ser8xe2x86x92Pro8 replacement. Suggestions are made to replace Cys by Ser, thereby breaking the disulfide bridge, and to replace one or more amino acids at the glycosylation sites.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,643 discloses the DNA sequence encoding human G-CSF.
WO 91/02754 discloses a fusion protein comprised of GM-CSF and IL-3 which has increased biological activity compared to GM-CSF or IL-3 alone. Also disclosed are nonglycosylated IL-3 and GM-CSF analog proteins as components of the multi-functional hematopoietic receptor agonist.
WO 92/04455 discloses fusion proteins composed of IL-3 fused to a lymphokine selected from the group consisting of IL-3, IL-6, IL-7, IL-9, IL-11, EPO and G-CSF.
WO 95/21197 and WO 95/21254 disclose fusion proteins capable of broad multi-functional hematopoietic properties.
GB 2,285,446 relates to the c-mpl ligand (thrombopoietin) and various forms of thrombopoietin which are shown to influence the replication, differentiation and maturation of megakaryocytes and megakaryocytes progenitors which may be used for the treatment of thrombocytopenia.
EP 675,201 A1 relates to the c-mpl ligand (Megakaryocyte growth and development factor (MGDF), allelic variations of c-mpl ligand and c-mpl ligand attached to water soluble polymers such as polyethylene glycol.
WO 95/21920 provides the murine and human c-mpl ligand and polypeptide fragments thereof. The proteins are useful for in vivo and ex vivo therapy for stimulating platelet production.
In evolution, rearrangements of DNA sequences serve an important role in generating a diversity of protein structure and function. Gene duplication and exon shuffling provide an important mechanism to rapidly generate diversity and thereby provide organisms with a competitive advantage, especially since the basal mutation rate is low (Doolittle, Protein Science 1:191-200, 1992).
The development of recombinant DNA methods has made it possible to study the effects of sequence transposition on protein folding, structure and function. The approach used in creating new sequences resembles that of naturally occurring pairs of proteins that are related by linear reorganization of their amino acid sequences (Cunningham, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76:3218-3222, 1979; Teather and Erfle, J. Bacteriol. 172: 3837-3841, 1990; Schimming et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 204: 13-19, 1992; Yamiuchi and Minamikawa, FEBS Lett. 260:127-130, 1991; MacGregor et al., FEBS Lett. 378:263-266). The first in vitro application of this type of rearrangement to proteins was described by Goldenberg and Creighton (J. Mol. Biol. 165:407-413, 1983). A new N-terminus is selected at an internal site (breakpoint) of the original sequence, the new sequence having the same order of amino acids as the original from the breakpoint until it reaches an amino acid that is at or near the original C-terminus. At this point the new sequence is joined, either directly or through an additional portion of sequence (linker), to an amino acid that is at or near the original N-terminus, and the new sequence continues with the same sequence as the original until it reaches a point that is at or near the amino acid that was N-terminal to the breakpoint site of the original sequence, this residue forming the new C-terminus of the chain.
This approach has been applied to proteins which range in size from 58 to 462 amino acids (Goldenberg and Creighton, J. Mol. Biol. 165:407-413, 1983; Li and Coffino, Mol. Cell. Biol. 13:2377-2383, 1993). The proteins examined have represented a broad range of structural classes, including proteins that contain predominantly xcex1-helix (interleukin-4; Kreitman et al., Cytokine 7:311-318, 1995), xcex2-sheet (interleukin-1; Horlick et al., Protein Eng. 5:427-431, 1992), or mixtures of the two (yeast phosphoribosyl anthranilate isomerase; Luger et al., Science 243:206-210, 1989). Broad categories of protein function are represented in these sequence reorganization studies:
The results of these studies have been highly variable. In many cases substantially lower activity, solubility or thermodynamic stability were observed (E. coli dihydrofolate reductase, aspartate transcarbamoylase, phosphoribosyl anthranilate isomerase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, ornithine decarboxylase, omp A, yeast phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase). In other cases, the sequence rearranged protein appeared to have many nearly identical properties as its natural counterpart (basic pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, T4 lysozyme, ribonuclease T1, Bacillus xcex2-glucanase, interleukin-1xcex2, xcex1-spectrin SH3 domain, pepsinogen, interleukin-4). In exceptional cases, an unexpected improvement over some properties of the natural sequence was observed, e.g., the solubility and refolding rate for rearranged xcex1-spectrin SH3 domain sequences, and the receptor affinity and anti-tumor activity of transposed interleukin-4-Pseudomonas exotoxin fusion molecule (Kreitman et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91:6889-6893, 1994; Kreitman et al., Cancer Res. 55:3357-3363, 1995).
The primary motivation for these types of studies has been to study the role of short-range and long-range interactions in protein folding and stability. Sequence rearrangements of this type convert a subset of interactions that are long-range in the original sequence into short-range interactions in the new sequence, and vice versa. The fact that many of these sequence rearrangements are able to attain a conformation with at least some activity is persuasive evidence that protein folding occurs by multiple folding pathways (Viguera, et al., J. Mol. Biol. 247:670-681, 1995). In the case of the SH3 domain of xcex1-spectrin, choosing new termini at locations that corresponded to xcex2-hairpin turns resulted in proteins with slightly less stability, but which were nevertheless able to fold.
The positions of the internal breakpoints used in the studies cited here are found exclusively on the surface of proteins, and are distributed throughout the linear sequence without any obvious bias towards the ends or the middle (the variation in the relative distance from the original N-terminus to the breakpoint is ca. 10 to 80% of the total sequence length). The linkers connecting the original N- and C-termini in these studies have ranged from 0 to 9 residues. In one case (Yang and Schachman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90:11980-11984, 1993), a portion of sequence has been deleted from the original C-terminal segment, and the connection made from the truncated C-terminus to the original N-terminus. Flexible hydrophilic residues such as Gly and Ser are frequently used in the linkers. Viguera, et al. (J. Mol. Biol. 247:670-681, 1995) compared joining the original N- and C-termini with 3- or 4-residue linkers; the 3-residue linker was less thermodynamically stable. Protasova et al. (Protein Eng. 7:1373-1377, 1994) used 3- or 5-residue linkers in connecting the original N-termini of E. coli dihydrofolate reductase; only the 3-residue linker produced protein in good yield.
Novel hematopoietic proteins of this invention are represented by the formulas:
R1xe2x80x94L1xe2x80x94R2, R2xe2x80x94L1xe2x80x94R1, R1xe2x80x94R2, or R2xe2x80x94R1
wherein R1 and R2 are independently selected from the group consisting of;
(I) A polypeptide comprising; a modified human G-CSF amino acid sequence of the formula:
wherein
Xaa at position 1 is Thr, Ser, Arg, Tyr or Gly;
Xaa at position 2 is Pro or Leu;
Xaa at position 3 is Leu, Arg, Tyr or Ser;
Xaa at position 13 is Phe, Ser, His, Thr or Pro;
Xaa at position 16 is Lys, Pro, Ser, Thr or His;
Xaa at position 17 is Cys, Ser, Gly, Ala, Ile, Tyr or Arg;
Xaa at position 18 is Leu, Thr, Pro, His, Ile or Cys;
Xaa at position 22 is Arg, Tyr, Ser, Thr or Ala;
Xaa at position 24 is Ile, Pro, Tyr or Leu;
Xaa at position 27 is Asp, or Gly;
Xaa at position 30 is Ala, Ile, Leu or Gly;
Xaa at position 34 is Lys or Ser;
Xaa at position 36 is Cys or Ser;
Xaa at position 42 is Cys or Ser;
Xaa at position 43 is His, Thr, Gly, Val, Lys, Trp, Ala, Arg, Cys, or Leu;
Xaa at position 44 is Pro, Gly, Arg, Asp, Val, Ala, His, Trp, Gln, or Thr;
Xaa at position 46 is Glu, Arg, Phe, Arg, Ile or Ala;
Xaa at position 47 is Leu or Thr;
Xaa at position 49 is Leu, Phe, Arg or Ser;
Xaa at position 50 is Leu, Ile, His, Pro or Tyr;
Xaa at position 54 is Leu or His;
Xaa at position 64 is Cys or Ser;
Xaa at position 67 is Gln, Lys, Leu or Cys;
Xaa at position 70 is Gln, Pro, Leu, Arg or Ser;
Xaa at position 74 is Cys or Ser;
Xaa at position 104 is Asp, Gly or Val;
Xaa at position 108 is Leu, Ala, Val, Arg, Trp, Gln or Gly;
Xaa at position 115 is Thr, His, Leu or Ala;
Xaa at position 120 is Gln, Gly, Arg, Lys or His
Xaa at position 123 is Glu, Arg, Phe or Thr
Xaa at position 144 is Phe, His, Arg, Pro, Leu, Gln or Glu;
Xaa at position 146 is Arg or Gln;
Xaa at position 147 is Arg or Gln;
Xaa at position 156 is His, Gly or Ser;
Xaa at position 159 is Ser, Arg, Thr, Tyr, Val or Gly;
Xaa at position 162 is Glu, Leu, Gly or Trp;
Xaa at position 163 is Val, Gly, Arg or Ala;
Xaa at position 169 is Arg, Ser, Leu, Arg or Cys;
Xaa at position 170 is His, Arg or Ser;
wherein optionally 1-11 amino acids from the N-terminus and 1-5 from the C-terminus can be deleted; and
wherein the N-terminus is joined to the C-terminus directly or through a linker capable of joining the N-terminus to the C-terminus and having new C- and N-termini at amino acids;
(II) A polypeptide comprising; a modified hIL-3 amino acid sequence of the formula:
wherein Xaa at position 17 is Ser, Lys, Gly, Asp, Met, Gln, or Arg;
Xaa at position 18 is Asn, His, Leu, Ile, Phe, Arg, or Gln;
Xaa at position 19 is Met, Phe, Ile, Arg, Gly, Ala, or Cys;
Xaa at position 20 is Ile, Cys, Gln, Glu, Arg, Pro, or Ala;
Xaa at position 21 is Asp, Phe, Lys, Arg, Ala, Gly, Glu, Gln, Asn, Thr, Ser or Val;
Xaa at position 22 is Glu, Trp, Pro, Ser, Ala, His, Asp, Asn, Gln, Leu, Val or Gly;
Xaa at position 23 is Ile, Val, Ala, Gly, Trp, Lys, Phe, Leu, Ser, or Arg;
Xaa at position 24 is Ile, Gly, Val, Arg, Ser, Phe, or Leu;
Xaa at position 25 is Thr, His, Gly, Gln, Arg, Pro, or Ala;
Xaa at position 26 is His, Thr, Phe, Gly, Arg, Ala, or Trp;
Xaa at position 27 is Leu, Gly, Arg, Thr, Ser, or Ala;
Xaa at position 28 is Lys, Arg, Leu, Gln, Gly, Pro, Val or Trp;
Xaa at position 29 is Gln, Asn, Leu, Pro, Arg, or Val;
Xaa at position 30 is Pro, His, Thr, Gly, Asp, Gln, Ser, Leu, or Lys;
Xaa at position 31 is Pro, Asp, Gly, Ala, Arg, Leu, or Gln;
Xaa at position 32 is Leu, Val, Arg, Gln, Asn, Gly, Ala, or Glu;
Xaa at position 33 is Pro, Leu, Gln, Ala, Thr, or Glu;
Xaa at position 34 is Leu, Val, Gly, Ser, Lys, Glu, Gln, Thr, Arg, Ala, Phe, Ile or Met;
Xaa at position 35 is Leu, Ala, Gly, Asn, Pro, Gln, or Val;
Xaa at position 36 is Asp, Leu, or Val;
Xaa at position 37 is Phe, Ser, Pro, Trp, or Ile;
Xaa at position 38 is Asn, or Ala;
Xaa at position 40 is Leu, Trp, or Arg;
Xaa at position 41 is Asn, Cys, Arg, Leu, His, Met, or Pro;
Xaa at position 42 is Gly, Asp, Ser, Cys, Asn, Lys, Thr, Leu, Val, Glu, Phe, Tyr, Ile, Met or Ala;
Xaa at position 43 is Glu, Asn, Tyr, Leu, Phe, Asp, Ala, Cys, Gln, Arg, Thr, Gly or Ser;
Xaa at position 44 is Asp, Ser, Leu, Arg, Lys, Thr, Met, Trp, Glu, Asn, Gln, Ala or Pro;
Xaa at position 45 is Gln, Pro, Phe, Val, Met, Leu, Thr, Lys, Trp, Asp, Asn, Arg, Ser, Ala, Ile, Glu or His;
Xaa at position 46 is Asp, Phe, Ser, Thr, Cys, Glu, Asn, Gln, Lys, His, Ala, Tyr, Ile, Val or Gly;
Xaa at position 47 is Ile, Gly, Val, Ser, Arg, Pro, or His;
Xaa at position 48 is Leu, Ser, Cys, Arg, Ile, His, Phe, Glu, Lys, Thr, Ala, Met, Val or Asn;
Xaa at position 49 is Met, Arg, Ala, Gly, Pro, Asn, His, or Asp;
Xaa at position 50 is Glu, Leu, Thr, Asp, Tyr, Lys, Asn, Ser, Ala, Ile, Val, His, Phe, Met or Gln;
Xaa at position 51 is Asn, Arg, Met, Pro, Ser, Thr, or His;
Xaa at position 52 is Asn, His, Arg, Leu, Gly, Ser, or Thr;
Xaa at position 53 is Leu, Thr, Ala, Gly, Glu, Pro, Lys, Ser, or Met;
Xaa at position 54 is Arg, Asp, Ile, Ser, Val, Thr, Gln, Asn, Lys, His, Ala or Leu;
Xaa at position 55 is Arg, Thr, Val, Ser, Leu, or Gly;
Xaa at position 56 is Pro, Gly, Cys, Ser, Gln, Glu, Arg, His, Thr, Ala, Tyr, Phe, Leu, Val or Lys;
Xaa at position 57 is Asn or Gly;
Xaa at position 58 is Leu, Ser, Asp, Arg, Gln, Val, or Cys;
Xaa at position 59 is Glu Tyr, His, Leu, Pro, or Arg;
Xaa at position 60 is Ala, Ser, Pro, Tyr, Asn, or Thr;
Xaa at position 61 is Phe, Asn, Glu, Pro, Lys, Arg, or Ser;
Xaa at position 62 is Asn, His, Val, Arg, Pro, Thr, Asp, or Ile;
Xaa at position 63 is Arg, Tyr, Trp, Lys, Ser, His, Pro, or Val;
Xaa at position 64 is Ala, Asn, Pro, Ser, or Lys;
Xaa at position 65 is Val, Thr, Pro, His, Leu, Phe, or Ser;
Xaa at position 66 is Lys, Ile, Arg, Val, Asn, Glu, or Ser;
Xaa at position 67 is Ser, Ala, Phe, Val, Gly, Asn, Ile, Pro, or His;
Xaa at position 68 is Leu, Val, Trp, Ser, Ile, Phe, Thr, or His;
Xaa at position 69 is Gln, Ala, Pro, Thr, Glu, Arg, Trp, Gly, or Leu;
Xaa at position 70 is Asn, Leu, Val, Trp, Pro, or Ala;
Xaa at position 71 is Ala, Met, Leu, Pro, Arg, Glu, Thr, Gln, Trp, or Asn;
Xaa at position 72 is Ser, Glu, Met, Ala, His, Asn, Arg, or Asp;
Xaa at position 73 is Ala, Glu, Asp, Leu, Ser, Gly, Thr, or Arg;
Xaa at position 74 is Ile, Met, Thr, Pro, Arg, Gly, Ala;
Xaa at position 75 is Glu, Lys, Gly, Asp, Pro, Trp, Arg, Ser, Gln, or Leu;
Xaa at position 76 is Ser, Val, Ala, Asn, Trp, Glu, Pro, Gly, or Asp;
Xaa at position 77 is Ile, Ser, Arg, Thr, or Leu;
Xaa at position 78 is Leu, Ala, Ser, Glu, Phe, Gly, or Arg;
Xaa at position 79 is Lys, Thr, Asn, Met, Arg, Ile, Gly, or Asp;
Xaa at position 80 is Asn, Trp, Val, Gly, Thr, Leu, Glu, or Arg;
Xaa at position 81 is Leu, Gln, Gly, Ala, Trp, Arg, Val, or Lys;
Xaa at position 82 is Leu, Gln, Lys, Trp, Arg, Asp, Glu, Asn, His, Thr, Ser. Ala, Tyr, Phe, Ile, Met or Val;
Xaa at position 83 is Pro, Ala, Thr, Trp, Arg, or Met;
Xaa at position 84 is Cys, Glu, Gly, Arg, Met, or Val;
Xaa at position 85 is Leu, Asn, Val, or Gln;
Xaa at position 86 is Pro, Cys, Arg, Ala, or Lys;
Xaa at position 87 is Leu, Ser, Trp, or Gly;
Xaa at position 88 is Ala, Lys, Arg, Val, or Trp;
Xaa at position 89 is Thr, Asp, Cys, Leu, Val, Glu, His, Asn, or Ser;
Xaa at position 90 is Ala, Pro, Ser, Thr, Gly, Asp, Ile, or Met;
Xaa at position 91 is Ala, Pro, Ser, Thr, Phe, Leu, Asp, or His;
Xaa at position 92 is Pro, Phe, Arg, Ser, Lys, His, Ala, Gly, Ile or Leu;
Xaa at position 93 is Thr, Asp, Ser, Asn, Pro, Ala, Leu, or Arg;
Xaa at position 94 is Arg, Ile, Ser, Glu, Leu, Val, Gln, Lys, His, Ala, or Pro;
Xaa at position 95 is His, Gln, Pro, Arg, Val, Leu, Gly, Thr, Asn, Lys, Ser, Ala, Trp, Phe, Ile, or Tyr;
Xaa at position 96 is Pro, Lys, Tyr, Gly, Ile, or Thr;
Xaa at position 97 is Ile, Val, Lys, Ala, or Asn;
Xaa at position 98 is His, Ile, Asn, Leu, Asp, Ala, Thr, Glu, Gln, Ser, Phe, Met, Val, Lys, Arg, Tyr or Pro;
Xaa at position 99 is Ile, Leu, Arg, Asp, Val, Pro, Gln, Gly, Ser, Phe, or His;
Xaa at position 100 is Lys, Tyr, Leu, His, Arg, Ile, Ser, Gln, or Pro;
Xaa at position 101 is Asp, Pro, Met, Lys, His, Thr, Val, Tyr, Glu, Asn, Ser, Ala, Gly, Ile, Leu, or Gln;
Xaa at position 102 is Gly, Leu, Glu, Lys, Ser, Tyr, or Pro;
Xaa at position 103 is Asp, or Ser;
Xaa at position 104 is Trp, Val, Cys, Tyr, Thr, Met, Pro, Leu, Gln, Lys, Ala, Phe, or Gly;
Xaa at position 105 is Asn, Pro, Ala, Phe, Ser, Trp, Gln, Tyr, Leu, Lys, Ile, Asp, or His;
Xaa at position 106 is Glu, Ser, Ala, Lys, Thr, Ile, Gly, or Pro;
Xaa at position 108 is Arg, Lys, Asp, Leu, Thr, Ile, Gin, His, Ser, Ala or Pro;
Xaa at position 109 is Arg, Thr, Pro, Glu, Tyr, Leu, Ser, or Gly;
Xaa at position 110 is Lys, Ala, Asn, Thr, Leu, Arg, Gln, His, Glu, Ser, or Trp;
Xaa at position 111 is Leu, Ile, Arg, Asp, or Met;
Xaa at position 112 is Thr, Val, Gln, Tyr, Glu, His, Ser, or Phe;
Xaa at position 113 is Phe, Ser, Cys, His, Gly, Trp, Tyr, Asp, Lys, Leu, Ile, Val or Asn;
Xaa at position 114 is Tyr, Cys, His, Ser, Trp, Arg, or Leu;
Xaa at position 115 is Leu, Asn, Val, Pro, Arg, Ala, His, Thr, Trp, or Met;
Xaa at position 116 is Lys, Leu, Pro, Thr, Met, Asp, Val, Glu, Arg, Trp, Ser, Asn, His, Ala, Tyr, Phe, Gln, or Ile;
Xaa at position 117 is Thr, Ser, Asn, Ile, Trp, Lys, or Pro;
Xaa at position 118 is Leu, Ser, Pro, Ala, Glu, Cys, Asp, or Tyr;
Xaa at position 119 is Glu, Ser, Lys, Pro, Leu, Thr, Tyr, or Arg;
Xaa at position 120 is Asn, Ala, Pro, Leu, His, Val, or Gln;
Xaa at position 121 is Ala, Ser, Ile, Asn, Pro, Lys, Asp, or Gly;
Xaa at position 122 is Gln, Ser, Met, Trp, Arg, Phe, Pro, His, Ile, Tyr, or Cys;
Xaa at position 123 is Ala, Met, Glu, His, Ser, Pro, Tyr, or Leu;
wherein optionally from 1 to 14 amino acids can be deleted from the N-terminus and/or from 1 to 15 amino acids can be deleted from the C-terminus; and wherein from 0 to 44 of the amino acids designated by Xaa are different from the corresponding amino acids of native (1-133) human interleukin-3; and
wherein the N-terminus is joined to the C-terminus directly or through a linker (L2) capable of joining the N-terminus to the C-terminus and having new C- and N-termini at amino acids;
or
(III) A polypeptide comprising; a modified human c-mpl ligand amino acid sequence of the formula:
wherein;
Xaa at position 112 is deleted or Leu, Ala, Val, Ile, Pro, Phe, Trp, or Met;
Xaa at position 113 is deleted or Pro, Phe, Ala, Val, Leu, Ile, Trp, or Met;
Xaa at position 114 is deleted or Pro, Phe, Ala, Val, Leu, Ile, Trp, or Met;
Xaa at position 115 is deleted or Gln, Gly, Ser, Thr, Tyr, or Asn; and
wherein the N-terminus is joined to the C-terminus directly or through a linker (L2) capable of joining the N-terminus to the C-terminus and having new C- and N-termini at amino acids;
or
(IV) A polypeptide comprising; a modified hIL-3 amino acid sequence of the formula: Thr Thr Ser Leu Lys Thr Ser Trp Val Asn
wherein Xaa at position 17 is Ser, Lys, Gly, Asp, Met, Gln, or Arg;
Xaa at position 18 is Asn, His, Leu, Ile, Phe, Arg, or Gln;
Xaa at position 19 is Met, Phe, Ile, Arg, Gly, Ala, or Cys;
Xaa at position 20 is Ile, Cys, Gln, Glu, Arg, Pro, or Ala;
Xaa at position 21 is Asp, Phe, Lys, Arg, Ala, Gly, Glu, Gln, Asn, Thr, Ser or Val;
Xaa at position 22 is Glu, Trp, Pro, Ser, Ala, His, Asp, Asn, Gln, Leu, Val or Gly;
Xaa at position 23 is Ile, Val, Ala, Gly, Trp, Lys, Phe, Leu, Ser, or Arg;
Xaa at position 24 is Ile, Gly, Val, Arg, Ser, Phe, or Leu;
Xaa at position 25 is Thr, His, Gly, Gln, Arg, Pro, or Ala;
Xaa at position 26 is His, Thr, Phe, Gly, Arg, Ala, or Trp;
Xaa at position 27 is Leu, Gly, Arg, Thr, Ser, or Ala;
Xaa at position 28 is Lys, Arg, Leu, Gln, Gly, Pro, Val or Trp;
Xaa at position 29 is Gln, Asn, Leu, Pro, Arg, or Val;
Xaa at position 30 is Pro, His, Thr, Gly, Asp, Gln, Ser, Leu, or Lys;
Xaa at position 31 is Pro, Asp, Gly, Ala, Arg, Leu, or Gln;
Xaa at position 32 is Leu, Val, Arg, Gln, Asn, Gly, Ala, or Glu;
Xaa at position 33 is Pro, Leu, Gln, Ala, Thr, or Glu;
Xaa at position 34 is Leu, Val, Gly, Ser, Lys, Glu, Gln, Thr, Arg, Ala, Phe, Ile or Met;
Xaa at position 35 is Leu, Ala, Gly, Asn, Pro, Gln, or Val;
Xaa at position 36 is Asp, Leu, or Val;
Xaa at position 37 is Phe, Ser, Pro, Trp, or Ile;
Xaa at position 38 is Asn, or Ala;
Xaa at position 40 is Leu, Trp, or Arg;
Xaa at position 41 is Asn, Cys, Arg, Leu, His, Met, or Pro;
Xaa at position 42 is Gly, Asp, Ser, Cys, Asn, Lys, Thr, Leu, Val, Glu, Phe, Tyr, Ile, Met or Ala;
Xaa at position 43 is Glu, Asn, Tyr, Leu, Phe, Asp, Ala, Cys, Gln, Arg, Thr, Gly or Ser;
Xaa at position 44 is Asp, Ser, Leu, Arg, Lys, Thr, Met, Trp, Glu, Asn, Gln, Ala or Pro;
Xaa at position 45 is Gln, Pro, Phe, Val, Met, Leu, Thr, Lys, Trp, Asp, Asn, Arg, Ser, Ala, Ile, Glu or His;
Xaa at position 46 is Asp, Phe, Ser, Thr, Cys, Glu, Asn, Gln, Lys, His, Ala, Tyr, Ile, Val or Gly;
Xaa at position 47 is Ile, Gly, Val, Ser, Arg, Pro, or His;
Xaa at position 48 is Leu, Ser, Cys, Arg, Ile, His, Phe, Glu, Lys, Thr, Ala, Met, Val or Asn;
Xaa at position 49 is Met, Arg, Ala, Gly, Pro, Asn, His, or Asp;
Xaa at position 50 is Glu, Leu, Thr, Asp, Tyr, Lys, Asn, Ser, Ala, Ile, Val, His, Phe, Met or Gln;
Xaa at position 51 is Asn, Arg, Met, Pro, Ser, Thr, or His;
Xaa at position 52 is Asn, His, Arg, Leu, Gly, Ser, or Thr;
Xaa at position 53 is Leu, Thr, Ala, Gly, Glu, Pro, Lys, Ser, or
Xaa at position 54 is Arg, Asp, Ile, Ser, Val, Thr, Gln, Asn, Lys, His, Ala or Leu;
Xaa at position 55 is Arg, Thr, Val, Ser, Leu, or Gly;
Xaa at position 56 is Pro, Gly, Cys, Ser, Gln, Glu, Arg, His, Thr, Ala, Tyr, Phe, Leu, Val or Lys;
Xaa at position 57 is Asn or Gly;
Xaa at position 58 is Leu, Ser, Asp, Arg, Gln, Val, or Cys;
Xaa at position 59 is Glu Tyr, His, Leu, Pro, or Arg;
Xaa at position 60 is Ala, Ser, Pro, Tyr, Asn, or Thr;
Xaa at position 61 is Phe, Asn, Glu, Pro, Lys, Arg, or Ser;
Xaa at position 62 is Asn, His, Val, Arg, Pro, Thr, Asp, or Ile;
Xaa at position 63 is Arg, Tyr, Trp, Lys, Ser, His, Pro, or Val;
Xaa at position 64 is Ala, Asn, Pro, Ser, or Lys;
Xaa at position 65 is Val, Thr, Pro, His, Leu, Phe, or Ser;
Xaa at position 66 is Lys, Ile, Arg, Val, Asn, Glu, or Ser;
Xaa at position 67 is Ser, Ala, Phe, Val, Gly, Asn, Ile, Pro, or His;
Xaa at position 68 is Leu, Val, Trp, Ser, Ile, Phe, Thr, or His;
Xaa at position 69 is Gln, Ala, Pro, Thr, Glu, Arg, Trp, Gly, or Leu;
Xaa at position 70 is Asn, Leu, Val, Trp, Pro, or Ala;
Xaa at position 71 is Ala, Met, Leu, Pro, Arg, Glu, Thr, Gln, Trp, or Asn;
Xaa at position 72 is Ser, Glu, Met, Ala, His, Asn, Arg, or Asp;
Xaa at position 73 is Ala, Glu, Asp, Leu, Ser, Gly, Thr, or Arg;
Xaa at position 74 is Ile, Met, Thr, Pro, Arg, Gly, Ala;
Xaa at position 75 is Glu, Lys, Gly, Asp, Pro, Trp, Arg, Ser, Gln, or Leu;
Xaa at position 76 is Ser, Val, Ala, Asn, Trp, Glu, Pro, Gly, or Asp;
Xaa at position 77 is Ile, Ser, Arg, Thr, or Leu;
Xaa at position 78 is Leu, Ala, Ser, Glu, Phe, Gly, or Arg;
Xaa at position 79 is Lys, Thr, Asn, Met, Arg, Ile, Gly, or Asp;
Xaa at position 80 is Asn, Trp, Val, Gly, Thr, Leu, Glu, or Arg;
Xaa at position 81 is Leu, Gln, Gly, Ala, Trp, Arg, Val, or Lys;
Xaa at position 82 is Leu, Gln, Lys, Trp, Arg, Asp, Glu, Asn, His, Thr, Ser, Ala, Tyr, Phe, Ile, Met or Val;
Xaa at position 83 is Pro, Ala, Thr, Trp, Arg, or Met;
Xaa at position 84 is Cys, Glu, Gly, Arg, Met, or Val;
Xaa at position 85 is Leu, Asn, Val, or Gln;
Xaa at position 86 is Pro, Cys, Arg, Ala, or Lys;
Xaa at position 87 is Leu, Ser, Trp, or Gly;
Xaa at position 88 is Ala, Lys, Arg, Val, or Trp;
Xaa at position 89 is Thr, Asp, Cys, Leu, Val, Glu, His, Asn, or Ser;
Xaa at position 90 is Ala, Pro, Ser, Thr, Gly, Asp, Ile, or Met;
Xaa at position 91 is Ala, Pro, Ser, Thr, Phe, Leu, Asp, or His;
Xaa at position 92 is Pro, Phe, Arg, Ser, Lys, His, Ala, Gly, Ile or Leu;
Xaa at position 93 is Thr, Asp, Ser, Asn, Pro, Ala, Leu, or Arg;
Xaa at position 94 is Arg, Ile, Ser, Glu, Leu, Val, Gln, Lys, His, Ala, or Pro;
Xaa at position 95 is His, Gln, Pro, Arg, Val, Leu, Gly, Thr, Asn, Lys, Ser, Ala, Trp, Phe, Ile, or Tyr;
Xaa at position 96 is Pro, Lys, Tyr, Gly, Ile, or Thr;
Xaa at position 97 is Ile, Val, Lys, Ala, or Asn;
Xaa at position 98 is His, Ile, Asn, Leu, Asp, Ala, Thr, Glu, Gln, Ser, Phe, Met, Val, Lys, Arg, Tyr or Pro;
Xaa at position 99 is Ile, Leu, Arg, Asp, Val, Pro, Gln, Gly, Ser, Phe, or His;
Xaa at position 100 is Lys, Tyr, Leu, His, Arg, Ile, Ser, Gln, or Pro;
Xaa at position 101 is Asp, Pro, Met, Lys, His, Thr, Val, Tyr, Glu, Asn, Ser, Ala, Gly, Ile, Leu, or Gln;
Xaa at position 102 is Gly, Leu, Glu, Lys, Ser, Tyr, or Pro;
Xaa at position 103 is Asp, or Ser;
Xaa at position 104 is Trp, Val, Cys, Tyr, Thr, Met, Pro, Leu, Gln, Lys, Ala, Phe, or Gly;
Xaa at position 105 is Asn, Pro, Ala, Phe, Ser, Trp, Gln, Tyr, Leu, Lys, Ile, Asp, or His;
Xaa at position 106 is Glu, Ser, Ala, Lys, Thr, Ile, Gly, or Pro;
Xaa at position 108 is Arg, Lys, Asp, Leu, Thr, Ile, Gln, His, Ser, Ala or Pro;
Xaa at position 109 is Arg, Thr, Pro, Glu, Tyr, Leu, Ser, or Gly;
Xaa at position 110 is Lys, Ala, Asn, Thr, Leu, Arg, Gln, His, Glu, Ser, or Trp;
Xaa at position 111 is Leu, Ile, Arg, Asp, or Met;
Xaa at position 112 is Thr, Val, Gln, Tyr, Glu, His, Ser, or Phe;
Xaa at position 113 is Phe, Ser, Cys, His, Gly, Trp, Tyr, Asp, Lys, Leu, Ile, Val or Asn;
Xaa at position 114 is Tyr, Cys, His, Ser, Trp, Arg, or Leu;
Xaa at position 115 is Leu, Asn, Val, Pro, Arg, Ala, His, Thr, Trp, or Met;
Xaa at position 116 is Lys, Leu, Pro, Thr, Met, Asp, Val, Glu, Arg, Trp, Ser, Asn, His, Ala, Tyr, Phe, Gin, or Ile;
Xaa at position 117 is Thr, Ser, Asn, Ile, Trp, Lys, or Pro;
Xaa at position 118 is Leu, Ser, Pro, Ala, Glu, Cys, Asp, or Tyr;
Xaa at position 119 is Glu, Ser, Lys, Pro, Leu, Thr, Tyr, or Arg;
Xaa at position 120 is Asn, Ala, Pro, Leu, His, Val, or Gln;
Xaa at position 121 is Ala, Ser, Ile, Asn, Pro, Lys, Asp, or Gly;
Xaa at position 122 is Gln, Ser, Met, Trp, Arg, Phe, Pro, His, Ile, Tyr, or Cys;
Xaa at position 123 is Ala, Met, Glu, His, Ser, Pro, Tyr, or Leu;
wherein optionally from 1 to 14 amino acids can be deleted from the N-terminus and/or from 1 to 15 amino acids can be deleted from the C-terminus; and wherein from 1 to 44 of the amino acids designated by Xaa are different from the corresponding amino acids of native (1-133) human interleukin-3;
or
(V) a colony stimulating factor;
and wherein L1 is a linker capable of linking R1 to R2;
with the proviso that at least R1 or R2 is selected from the polypeptide of formula (I), (II), or (III); and
said hematopoietic protein can optionally be immediately preceded by (methioninexe2x88x921), (alaninexe2x88x921) or (methioninexe2x88x922, alaninexe2x88x921).
The more preferred breakpoints at which new C-terminus and N-terminus can be made in the polypeptide (I) above are; 38-39, 39-40, 40-41, 41-42, 48-49, 53-54, 54-55, 55-56, 56-57, 57-58, 58-59, 59-60, 60-61, 61-62, 62-63, 64-65, 65-66, 66-67, 67-68, 68-69, 69-70, 96-97, 125-126, 126-127, 127-128, 128-129, 129-130, 130-131, 131-132, 132-133, 133-134, 134-135, 135-136, 136-137, 137-138, 138-139, 139-140, 140-141 and 141-142.
The most preferred breakpoints at which new C-terminus and N-terminus can be made in the polypeptide (I) above are; 38-39, 48-49, 96-97, 125-126, 132-133 and 141-142.
The more preferred breakpoints at which new C-terminus and N-terminus can be made in the polypeptide (II) above are; 28-29, 29-30, 30-31, 31-32, 32-33, 33-34, 34-35, 35-36, 36-37, 37-38, 38-39, 39-40, 66-67, 67-68, 68-69, 69-70, 70-71, 84-85, 85-86, 86-87, 87-88, 88-89, 89-90, 90-91, 98-99, 99-100, 100-101 and 101-102.
The most preferred breakpoints at which new C-terminus and N-terminus can be made in the polypeptide (II) above are; 34-35, 69-70 and 90-91.
The more preferred breakpoints at which new C-terminus and N-terminus can be made in the polypeptide (III) above or the amino acid sequence of (SEQ ID NO:256) are; 80-81, 81-82, 82-83, 83-84, 84-85, 85-86, 86-87, 108-109, 109-110, 110-111, 111-112, 112-113, 113-114, 114-115, 115-116, 116-117, 117-118, 118-119, 119-120, 120-121, 121-122, 122-123, 123-124, 124-125, 125-126 and 126-127.
The most preferred breakpoints at which new C-terminus and N-terminus can be made in the polypeptide (III) above or the amino acid sequence of (SEQ ID NO:256) are; 81-82, 108-109, 115-116, 119-120, 122-123 and 125-126.
The invention is also intended to include multifunctional receptor agonist which comprises a sequence rearranged c-mpl receptor agonist in which the cysteine at position 7 and/or 151 are substituted with another amino acid. Preferably, the substitution at position 7 and 151 is Ser, Ala, Gly, His, Asn, Asp, Thr, Phe or Thr. More preferably, the substitution at position 7 and 151 is Ser, Ala, Gly, His or Asn.
The multifunctional receptor agonist of the present invention can also be represented by the following formula:
(T1)a-(L1)b-X1-(L)c-X2-(L2)d-(T2)e
X1-(L)c-X2-(L)-Y1-(L)c-Y2
in which:
X1 is a peptide comprising an amino acid sequence corresponding to the sequence of residues n+1 through J of the original protein having amino acids residues numbered sequentially 1 through J with an amino terminus at residue 1;
L is an optional linker;
X2 is a peptide comprising an amino acid sequence of residues 1 through n of the original protein;
Y1 is a peptide comprising an amino acid sequence corresponding to the sequence of residues n=1 through K of the original protein having amino acids residues numbered sequentially 1 through K with an amino terminus at residue 1;
Y2 is a peptide comprising an amino acid sequence of residues 1 through n of the original protein;
L1 and L2 are optional peptide spacers:
n is an integer ranging from 1 to Jxe2x88x921;
b, c, and d are each independently 0 or 1;
a and e are either 0 or 1, provided that both a and e cannot both be 0; and
T1 and T2 are proteins.
Additionally, the present invention relates to recombinant expression vectors comprising nucleotide sequences encoding the multi-functional hematopoietic receptor agonists, related microbial expression systems, and processes for making the multi-functional hematopoietic receptor agonists. The invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing the multi-functional hematopoietic receptor agonists, and methods for using the multi-functional hematopoietic receptor agonists.
In addition to the use of the multi-functional hematopoietic receptor agonists of the present invention in vivo, it is envisioned that in vitro uses would include the ability to stimulate bone marrow and blood cell activation and growth before infusion into patients.